wet and windy driving

This is a photograph of my mate Mr.Stink he has been sitting on my bathroom wall for a few weeks now obviously hibernating and readying himself for the new season which, I am sure cannot be that far away. I have come a long way from the squealing woman who arrived in Zimbabwe some 30 years ago and jumped at the sight of every bug that moved, and even the ones that didn't. Now I only squeal at fake plastic spiders left lying around by evil children.
​Our family takes pride in our ability to improve our insect population through our more natural methods of farming and living adopted during the last 17 years in France, fallen into initially by a serious lack of capital and then continued through increased awareness and education.
 

Saint Aulaye

The media publish articles about fewer or no insects on our windscreens, or birds found starved to death at odd times of year. I wonder what people think when they read about it? Lets give some money to a charity and absolve our requirement to do anything?  Without insects the world will fall apart they all have a function many are involved in the clean up and processing of our rubbish into something that will become soil for us to use. Some are pollinators enabling us to eat. Some are pest controllers. some are seed dispersers....... the list goes on. In short we cannot exist without them. Cherish them in all their stinky ugliness and elegant, hairy, beauty.

La Lizonne/Nizonne

In theory we should be open to change during covid-19, but it appears that change is a very difficult task. We have been spoilt for too many years being able to get what we want whenever we want it and are reluctant to accept that continuing on our slightly diverted current path is not the best choice. We have become so detached from our environment that we forget that we are one big ecosystem The Planet, and whatever happens on the other side of the world happens to you too. Too much talking not enough action it is dispiriting.

Le Né

It was a long and depressing drive through the Charente last Monday on my delivery run in the pouring rain and floods. I had several diversions en route...... I try to speak out in support of my farming compatriots defending and explaining the reason why things are done the way they are. But after driving past so many naked fields, with no trees or hedges on the high ground from where the water runs, and not an ounce of sensible field cover with adequate root system to protect the soil from the rain and hold the water back to eleviate the flooding, I wanted to cry.
Yes there was a lot of rain I am not denying that but compounded with so little green cover did not help the situation. The headlines say how the government are going to support 7000km of hedge planting. Well p*****g in the wind springs to mind.
​Cover the ground should be the new mantra, mixed and varied farming. No to moncropping. Get those animals out on the land and give those tireless insects some food to work on (if you are not keeping up with my thought processes, I mean poop) This should be something to be excited about my farming friends. No, just being organic does not count. I drove past several properties advertising their organicness with their bare monocropped fields shining and underwater. Back closer to home where we are surrounded by trees, hedges and permanent pasture there was a normal amount of run off from the ground.

Above is our water running off our permanent pasture. Please note it is clear. Why? Because the field has poop, insects and roots.

I am not going to apologise for being repetitive if you have read all this before. It needs saying often in several thousand languages to as many people as possible to spread the ideas to get down with the bugs and soil to help make some progress.

And fear not my fine farming friends next time I will be going all out for those people who insist on town planning with tarmac, concrete and digging up trees. Another depressing subject.
Ín the words of Spock "Live long and prosper"
​Helenx

Fixing the spillway on the dam